SLPs in Vegas LInky Party

I was one of those fortunate speech-language pathologists who attended the Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Conference in Las Vegas last weekend.  It was such an amazing time of learning, inspiration and friendship that I just have to share what I took away from it!

First, let me just say that I love to create my own treatment materials and share them with you, but I am NOT a Mover or a Shaker in the TpT world. I am just a lowly little seller trying to build her store and learn some things along the way. But the opportunity came up for me to attend this conference, and I decided to go, despite the fact that I had only "met" the other SLPs in the group online. I even agreed to share a room with one of them!

My roommate, the lovely Tracy from Gold Country SLP

Meeting Tracy and all of the other amazing SLP creator/sellers was BY FAR the best thing about going to the conference. Look who I got to spend time with:

That's Lisette from Speech Sprouts...

...here's Lynda from Lynda SLP 123 with Susan Berkowitz...

...Ashley from AGB Speech Therapy and Ashley Rossi...

...Kelly from Speech 2 U (who is extremely witty and hilarious)...

...and the Fabulous Mia from Putting Words in Your Mouth! I was star-struck!!!

There were many others too, but I wasn't fortunate enough to get pics with all of them.  But here's the whole group:

We ROCKED those t-shirts, by the way. Everyone at the conference knew who the SLPs were! Here's me wearing mine on the day it arrived in the mail:

I was so excited! I had no idea what to expect before I went, but I knew it was going to be fun.

So, what did I take away from this experience besides meeting new life-long friends and colleagues? I learned A TON about marketing, the ins and outs of being a TpT seller, using social media, and product design.  I can't share any of the conference sessions' info or content, but I can tell you this: if you're a TpT seller and you want to improve your skills, GO to this conference next year. Why?

1.  Networking! Many of us SLP sellers/bloggers already belong to Facebook groups and have gotten to know each other through social media, but actually meeting these wonderful people in person is beyond compare! Even though we're all sellers competing for our share of the market, this group of ladies is incredibly supportive of each other's efforts. We talked about tips and tricks that have worked for us, laughed about failures and mis-steps, and taught each other things about PowerPoint, Pinterest and Periscope.

2.  Inspiration!  I met so many inspiring people and heard so many encouraging words from other sellers and presenters. Teachers Pay Teachers is an incredible resource for speech-language pathologists, too, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

3. Motivation! All kinds of sellers were represented at this conference. Those who are just beginning, those who (like me) keep plugging along and want to build their stores, and those who have reached the stars in their success. Regardless of where you are on this continuum, this conference provided the motivation to improve your skills as a blogger, seller and professional. I left feeling overwhelmed by my new to-do list, but at the same time, ready to move forward and grow with a clear plan in place.

I came home with my mind buzzing with new ideas, ready to put some new-found energy into my products and blog, secretly wondering how in the world I was going to juggle it all, and reminded myself that the key is BALANCE. So I took some time out to go watch some of the Special Olympic events taking place at a nearby high school on Sunday.

Wow, talk about inspiration and motivation! Those athletes are the epitome of those two words! How can I not be inspired by the athlete who stopped to pump his fist in the air to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd before crossing the finish line? Or the athlete with physical challenges who ran the race to the best of his ability, even if it meant finishing minutes behind the winner? Watching these athletes compete and succeed and observing the pride and support of their families reminded me that THESE are the lives we are impacting with our services and products. If I can make a difference for one, that is reason enough to keep going. I may finish miles behind other sellers and their sales goals, but I am going to celebrate my victories along the way.

Want to know what some of my friends took away from their time at the conference? Click on the link below!

Speech Sprouts SLPs in Vegas Linky Party